Missing Moments: Fire and Water
by astareltheweeper
Summary: Sam seeks a moment alone at the wake... just a shippy little missing scene... SJ


**Author's Note: **Yay, I haven't written anything for ages! This is my first SG-1 fic so please be kind but do review... it doesn't cost anything! SG-1 rocks my world! )

**Disclaimer:** The SG-1 concept and characters belong to MGM, Gekko and... well there's another one but you get the gist... I don't own or profit, they don't sue!

**Spoilers: **Season 1: Fire and Water

Sam separated herself from the crowd for a while and headed for a quiet corner of the garden. Although keeping up appearances was her forte, she wanted a little while to herself. She was finding the whole situation hard to handle. Daniel was gone. But he wasn't... It didn't make any sense, and Sam was used to thinks making sense. Sure, working at the SGC kept you on your toes but even the strangest of situations that they had been in had made some degree of sense. She had seen Daniel die. Heck, the thought of it still kept her awake at night, but why was she so certain that he was alive? No one could have survived what she had seen him suffer...

The memory threatened to overwhelm her and she leaned against the sturdy trunk of the nearby tree. But the bark didn't feel cold and rough against her hand. It was soft and warm. Sam looked up to find herself gazing right into the eyes of her CO. Jack was sitting in the tree with a beer in one hand and the other, now covered by hers, was steadying his balance.

"Hey Carter."

His voice sounded deadpan, with none of the usual spark and humour that usually characterised his speech.

"Hey Sir."

Her voice was equally monotone. Neither of them spoke for a moment, each lost in a sea of thought.

"Can I have that back?"

Sam's look of confusion turned to a slight blush as she withdrew her hand.

"Thanks."

"Sorry Sir"

"It's okay, I won't have you shot this time."

There was an awkward silence as they both thought of Daniel again... Jack swirled his beer bottle and gazed into it as if its contents somehow held the answers to his present dilemma. Sam folded her arms and leaned against the tree, deep in thought.

"How are you holding up?"

Jack turned to drape a hand across her shoulder. Both the gesture and the question took Sam by surprise. She looked up to answer him and was surprised by the caring look in his eyes.

"It's hard... it just doesn't feel like... like he's..."

"gone..."

Jack finished the sentence for her.

"I know. I feel the same way. I know what I saw, but at the same time..."

"He couldn't have survived that Jack, it was too..."

She trailed off as the lump in her throat choked her and the tears that had been pricking at the back of her eyes finally won out and spilled over onto her cheeks. She turned away to hide her tears from Jack, hastily wiping them on the back of her hands. There was a gentle thump behind her as Jack jumped down from the tree.

"Carter, c'mere..."

He pulled her into a fierce hug, wrapping his arms tightly around her and burying his face in the back of her neck. Sam felt herself relax into the embrace and her sobs came freely.

"Hey... hey... it'll be okay..."

Jack was stroking her hair, comforting her as though she was a small child. Sam's hands were balled tightly into fists and scrunched up against her face which was buried in his chest. She unclenched her hands and reached around under his jacket to wind her arms around his waist. Jack pulled her closer and rocked her back and forth gently until the sobs ceased. Sam snuggled into his shirt and sniffed. Neither of them knew how long they lingered in the embrace, but Sam knew that she had stopped crying a long time before she finally pulled away.

Jack took her face in his hands and wiped away the last of her tears with his thumbs.

"You alright?"

Sam nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Of course she wasn't alright. She didn't feel like anything would be 'alright' again for a long time. However, it had felt good to release a little of the hurt that she was feeling. Looking into Jack's eyes, she could see that he was hurting just as bad, if not worse. Of course... this must have been reminding him of Charlie... but there was no way that she could let him blame himself for this...

"There was nothing you could have done Jack."

The shock in his eyes was apparent. _You hit the nail on the head with that one Carter_ He cleared his throat and averted his gaze from her searching blue eyes, dropping his hands self consciously to his sides.

Sam's cheeks felt cold without his touch. _Damn it Sam, what did you say that for?_

"Look Sir, I..."

"I appreciate it Carter..."

The tone in Jack's voice made it clear that he didn't want to follow the conversation down that route any longer. He had become very suddenly interested in a broken piece of bark that was sticking out from the tree. Sam noticed that his beer bottle lay on the ground nearby; he must have dropped it when he jumped down. She reached out to touch his shoulder...

"I'm sorry Sir, I just meant..."

He turned to face her and placed his hand over hers.

"It's okay Carter, really..."

He gave her hand a gentle squeeze before turning to walk away. Sam kept a hold of his hand...

"Sir..."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for... well, for being there..."

She blushed slightly, realising that she had really cried all over her CO. He came a few steps closer and looked at her tenderly...

"Always..."


End file.
